A Colorado judge on Friday ruled former President Donald Trump could remain on the state’s 2024 primary ballot. The decision came after similar lawsuits challenging Trump’s ballot eligibility failed in Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire.
However, District Judge Sarah B. Wallace said in her decision that Trump engaged in insurrection against the Constitution with his actions before and during the riots on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, which could be used in an appeal.
The legal challenges that have sought to remove Trump from state ballots cite a Civil War-era clause in the 14th Amendment that prohibits officials who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution from holding office if they’ve “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort” to those who did. Those seeking to ban him from ballots argue his actions related to the January 6 riots amount to insurrection.
While Wallace rejected free speech arguments from Trump’s attorneys by saying he engaged in insurrection, she said she could not remove a presidential candidate from the ballot.
The Colorado case was brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a progressive government watchdog group. Noah Bookbinder, the president of CREW, addressed Wallace’s ruling in a thread on X (formerly Twitter) and said the group plans to file an appeal.
“The Colorado court’s decision today affirms what @CREWcrew’s clients alleged in this lawsuit: that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection based on his role in January 6th. That finding came after a thorough evidentiary hearing,” he wrote.
Bookbinder continued: “The court did not order him removed from the ballot, however, finding that the president is not an officer of the United States and so not subject to the 14th amendment’s disqualification clause. We will be filing an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court shortly.
“This is the first time a presidential candidate has been found to have engaged in insurrection. We are proud to have brought this historic case. Today was not the end of this effort, but another step along the way.”
Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesperson, celebrated the decision in a statement.
“We applaud today’s ruling in Colorado, which is another nail in the coffin of the un-American ballot challenges. With this decision, Democrats‘ 14th Amendment challenges have now been defeated in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire,” Cheung wrote, in part. “The American voter has a Constitutional right to vote for the candidate of their choosing, with President Donald J. Trump leading by massive numbers. This right was correctly preserved in Colorado today and we urge the swift disposal of any and all remaining Democrat ballot challenges.”
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